Bills look to get back on track in Week 11 game: What to know about crucial matchup
ORCHARD PARK - This is not going to be a comfortable week at One Bills Drive, nor should it be.
Sean McDermott’s one-time Super Bowl favorite Buffalo Bills have hit a rough patch with back-to-back losses, both of which saw them blow double-digit leads.
You give credit where credit is due, but let’s cut to the chase here: The Bills pretty much handed both games to the Jets and Vikings thanks to head-scratching mistakes and abysmal execution in the key moments of both games.
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Most teams go through times like this, and now the Bills - if they truly are a viable Super Bowl contender - have to figure out a way to stop this slide Sunday with the 3-6 Cleveland Browns coming to Highmark Stadium.
“This is the journey of a season, so you’ve got to pull yourself back together, find out the reasons why, make the adjustments, and move forward,” McDermott said in the aftermath of the inexplicable 33-30 overtime loss to the Vikings.
Josh Allen threw two more red zone interceptions, the last of which ended the game, and now leads the NFL with 10 picks, six in the last three games. Once the frontrunner in the NFL MVP conversation, Allen hasn’t played this poorly since the 2019 season when he hadn’t yet become Josh Allen.
“For Buffalo, this has continued a trend of poor second-half play,” Tony Dungy said on the Sunday Night Football pregame show. “Leaky run defense in the second half, Josh Allen with bad decisions … just not playing good ball. They’ve been outscored 43-12 in the second half of their last three games. They’ve got to get that fixed.”
No one is panicking because as we saw last season, the Bills hit a similar lull in November and early December and then ran off four straight wins to close the season and win the AFC East. Let that be a warning, defensive end Von Miller said.
“I pray and I hope that guys think that they’ve got us figured out, because that's a bad place to be in,” Miller said. “We’ve got a great team. We’re battling through some injuries right now, and I'm not going to make excuses for anything like that – hats off to the Minnesota Vikings, they came in and beat us, but this is good medicine, man.
“I'm excited to come into the facility on Wednesday and be the same Von that I've always been, and be a light in the locker room, and be a light to my teammates, and getting to see the brighter side, man. We're in a good spot. We're 6-3. Like we’ve got a long season to go.”
Miller is Mr. Positive, we’ve learned that early on in his Bills tenure, and talk is fine, but now it’s time to prove they are the great team we all thought they were as recently as two weeks ago.
Top players for Cleveland Browns on offense, defense
▶ QB Jacoby Brissett: The Browns are in the homestretch of the Brissett experience as disgraced DeShaun Watson is eligible to play in two weeks. Brissett is a career-long backup who isn’t capable of carrying a team, and if the Browns don’t run well, they’re usually in trouble. He is completing 63.8% of his throws for 230.4 yards per game with eight TDs and five interceptions.
▶ RB Nick Chubb: That said, when the Browns run it well, they can be a tough team and Chubb’s 904 yards are third in the NFL while his 11 rushing TDs are No. 1. He’s averaging 5.7 yards per attempt which is fifth among all RBs. He’s exactly the kind of runner who can really do damage against this Bills defense. Think Jonathan Taylor of the Colts from last year.
▶ RB Kareem Hunt: He’s the change of pace back who would be far and away the full-time RB in Buffalo. He has 314 yards, a 3.8 average per attempt, and also has 20 catches for 127 yards. He was on the trading block and whether the Bills called, we don’t know and they pivoted to Nyheim Hines. We’ll see if that works out.
▶ WR Amari Cooper: The former Cowboys star has had a decent year with 42 catches for 585 yards and five TDs, but he will probably benefit the most when Watson gets on the field. Regardless, against this struggling Bills secondary that just got eviscerated by Justin Jefferson, Cooper’s a concern.
▶ TE David Njoku: He has missed the last two games so the Browns hope he can return because he’s a weapon. He has 34 catches for 413 yards and one TD in the seven games he’s played. His catch percentage is 82.9 which is seventh-best among all tight ends. The Bills would take that production at the position these days.
▶ DE Myles Garrett: He’s a monster and a major worry against this underwhelming Bills offensive line. Pro Football Focus has Garrett as its top-graded edge rusher, ahead of Dallas’ Micah Parsons. His pass rush win rate of 26.3% leads the league, he has 42 pressures, third in the NFL among edge rushers, and eight sacks, and he missed one game. For comparison, Miller’s pass rush win rate is 16.8% which is 33rd among edge rushers.
▶ LB: Sione Takitaki: He has been on 47 tackles, tied for second on the team, but what really stands out is that he doesn’t miss. His 4.4% missed tackle rate is seventh-best among all LBs in the NFL.
▶ CB Martin Emerson: He leads the Browns with seven pass breakups and has allowed just 63.3% of passes into his area to be completed which is similar to Buffalo’s Dane Jackson who has allowed a 61.5% completion rate.
What the game means to Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns
All of the sudden, the Bills are reeling and losing a second straight game at home, this time to an AFC opponent, would really be damaging. Simply put, the Bills have to win. They have coughed up the early advantages they had in the standings with their 6-1 start, and with the Dolphins showing no signs of losing anytime soon, the AFC East is firmly in peril.
For the Browns, at 3-6 they are in trouble in the playoff race. They are three games behind the Ravens in the AFC North, two games behind the Bengals, and currently sit 11th in the conference standings. If they are going to make a run and set up Watson with a chance to pull something off, they need to get it started quickly, so it’s a very big game for them.
Who is favored to win Bills vs Browns?
Despite the back-to-back losses to the Jets and Vikings, the Bills are opening as a 9.5-point favorite at home.
The money line is Bills minus-390 (bet $390 to win $100) and Browns plus-320 (bet $100 to win $320). The over-under for the game is 47.5.
What time does the Bills vs Browns game start?
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Highmark Stadium.
How to watch Buffalo Bills vs Cleveland Browns game on TV, streaming
Cable/Network: CBS with announcers Andrew Catalon (play-by-play, James Lofton (analyst), and Amanda Renner (sideline reporter). The game will be available locally via the following stations: WROC (Channel 8, Rochester), WIVB (Buffalo area), WTVH (Syracuse area), WKTV (Utica area), WENY (Elmira area), WRGB (Albany area), and WBNG (Binghamton area).
Online streaming services: NFL.com and the NFL mobile app. Also, the NFL has a new streaming service called NFL+ which replaces NFL Game Pass, though you can’t cast the games to your TV - you must watch on your phone or tablet. The cost is $5 a month or $30 for the season, and a premium tier costs $10/$80 which includes all-22 coaches film and condensed and full-game replays. With it, you’ll be able to watch every local game on Sunday and the national games on Monday and Thursday nights as well as the playoffs and the Super Bowl. You can also stream if you have subscriptions to DirecTV, fuboTV, NFL+, Sling, Vidgo, Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, and Paramount+.
On the radio: How to listen to the Bills vs Browns game
How to listen: The Bills Radio Network has stations all across the state. They include Rochester (WCMF 96.5 and WROC 950 AM), Buffalo (WGR550, 550 AM), Syracuse (WTKW 99.5/WTKV 105.5), Binghamton (WDRE 100.5FM), Ithaca (WIII 99.9/100.3 FM), Bath (WVIN 98.3 FM), Newark (WACK 1420 AM), Dansville (WDNY 93.9 FM), Elmira (WNGZ 1490 AM), Auburn (WAUB 98.1 FM/1590 AM), and Geneva (WGVA 95.9 FM, 1240 AM). You can also listen on SiriusXM satellite radio on channel 225 (Bills) and channel 380 (Browns).
Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana.To subscribe to Sal's new twice-a-week newsletter, Bills Blast, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Who do the Bills play next? What to know about Week 11 game
